India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has admitted that the visiting batsmen committed mistakes under challenging conditions as his side were bowled out for just 107.
The inept technique coupled with fragile temperament of Indian batting was thoroughly exposed as they crumbled out against a top quality England seam attack on a rain-hit second day of the second cricket Test.
While skipper Virat Kohli had insisted that there are no technical problems, the horrendous batting effort painted a sorry picture.
“I don’t think you can get any more challenging conditions than this (in Test cricket) especially with Duke ball in these weather conditions. But as a batsman you have to back your ability. It is all about intent out there, of not only scoring runs but also leaving the ball and defending well. As a batsman it is always a challenge to come here and play against this kind of attack,” Rahane said.
“You have to accept your mistake. Acceptance is the key, I think, when you play in England. It’s not about getting caught behind, even run out, but you have got to accept your mistake and move on. The quicker we learn from our mistakes, the better for us. I am sure everyone will learn from this innings and there is a long way to go in this match as well as the series,” he said.
Put into bat under overcast conditions, the frailties of a wobbly top order was there for everyone to see as veteran James Anderson (5/20) made them hop, skip and jump on a track with his 26th five-wicket haul in longest form.
“Anderson was really good. He bowled in the right areas. Bowling 13-14 overs for 20 overs and getting five wickets is really good, and that’s why he is a quality bowler,” he said.
Anderson was ably complemented by Chris Woakes (2/19), Sam Curran (1/26) and Stuart Broad (1/37). The excessive seam movement became too hot to handle despite only 35.2 overs being bowled on the day.
Anderson was right on target removing Murali Vijay (0) with a delivery that pitched on the middle stump line and moved enough as the opener tried to flick it, only to miss the line completely.
KL Rahul (8) lazily nicked a delivery on the fourth stump as India lost their openers in very first session in which only 6.3 overs were bowled. Cheteshwar Pujara (1, 25 balls) left a lot of deliveries but was once again run out trying a quick single with his skipper Kohli backtracking after initially responding to a call.
Cheteshwar Pujara was run out for the third time this year after the horrendous mix up.
“It definitely hurts as a teammates, and I am sure even Pujara will be upset about his run out. The run out definitely hurt us and the weather after that too. I think we did not get to play for 3-4 hours, so definitely as a team you feel really bad,” said Rahane.
The only hope was the skipper himself and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane (18), who had scored a memorable century in 2014.
With the conditions adverse, not for once did the Kohli-Rahane duo look settled during their 34-run stand off 13.1 overs. If Anderson wasn’t troubling them with off-stump channel, then it was comeback man Woakes, who was ready to make life miserable for the duo.
Replacing first Test hero Ben Stokes, Woakes repeatedly hit the seam and got it to nip away from the right handers beating the bat innumerable times.
Finally, Kohli (23) who had battled hard for 70 minutes and 57 balls, forced into committing a mistake by Woakes. A delivery that pitched on middle stump hit the seam and Kohli closed his bat face with a leading edge being gobbled at the slip by Jos Buttler.
Hardik Pandya (11) didn’t learn from his mistakes as he was dropped by Buttler in the slip cordon and played a similar shot with hard hands to be caught by the same fielder.
Dinesh Karthik (1) was clueless as Curran got one to dart back in as it breached it his defences. Rahane’s patience gave away as Anderson coming for his second spell bowled a beauty to force him to edging one to the slips as India’s resistance ended in a jiffy.
It was Ravichandran Ashwin’s 29 that ensured that India crossed the three-figure mark as England gained complete control despite a day and half’s play being already lost due to inclement weather.
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